It is well known that motor vehicle operators, who send text messages while driving, are more likely to have accidents. According to a recent article entitled “1 in 4 surf Web while behind wheel” (hereinafter “the Article”), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that texting while driving creates a crash risk that is twenty-three times greater than not doing so. (Copeland, Larry. “1 in 4 surf Web while behind wheel.” USA Today. 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013”, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference, in its entirety, for all that it teaches and for all purposes). Moreover, according to the Article, the rise in ownership of smartphones means there are more opportunities than ever for a driver to be distracted. For example, according to one survey, nearly one out of four drivers is going online while driving. Although texting and accessing the Internet while driving is clearly an unsafe practice, and illegal in several jurisdictions, many people continue to do so.
There are any number of ways to disable and/or alter a device's operability automatically if the device is within a moving vehicle. For example, the texting function may be disabled automatically if GPS or cell tower triangulation indicate that the device is moving at a fast rate. As another example, the operability of the device as a whole may be modified such that the device is rendered inoperable if the device is moving at a fast rate. However, disabling texting and/or Internet access for all occupants of a moving vehicle, and not just for the driver, is a poor solution.